Kickers and punters don’t get much love in the football world, but specialists can have a big impact on a team’s success. The South Carolina football program has had several elite punters and kickers who were big parts of winning football games in Columbia. Some players served as both the team’s punter and kicker, but for the purpose of this ranking, players will be judged based on their better position; players pulling double-duty may win a “tiebreaker” with another player if the rankings are exceptionally close.
Honorable Mentions
Tom O’Connor: The punter for the “Black Magic” 1984 Gamecocks, Tom O’Connor (1984-1985) only spent two years in Columbia but was a very good punter. Averaging over 41 yards per kick for his career, O’Connor was one of the top punters in the country in 1985 as he booted the ball almost 44 yards per punt. He spent a short time in the NFL after graduation from Carolina.
Reed Morton: Reed Morton (1993-1996) survived an accidental electrocution as a teenager before making his way to the University of South Carolina. During his Gamecock career, Morton broke Scott Hagler’s consecutive extra point record by going a perfect 84-84 for his career on PATs. An accurate kicker, Morton made over 70% of his career field goals but lacked the leg to make long kicks. His career-long was a 48-yarder against Kentucky, but his second-longest was a 47-yarder in the Gamecocks’ first-ever bowl win against West Virginia in the 1994 Carquest Bowl.
Max Runager: The punter during South Carolina’s transition from the ACC to Independent ball, Max Runager (1974-1978) was a team captain for head coach Jim Carlen. Runager, a South Carolina native, averaged over 41 yards per punt in his career. He was selected to participate in the All-American Bowl by college coaches after his senior season and “put it all together” as a pro, spending over a decade in the NFL.
Courtney Leavitt: Courtney Leavitt (1996-1999) punted and kicked for the Gamecocks, but he was a much better punter. He averaged over 40 yards per punt in his career and scored 74 points as a kicker. Perhaps the most famous thing about Leavitt, though, is his Lou Holtz impersonation. Players who played for the legendary coach say that among all the impersonations (and there were many), Leavitt’s was the best.
Scott Hagler: A small player, even for a kicker, Scott Hagler (1982-1986) was a fan favorite kicker and a team captain in 1986. Hagler went an impressive 117-118 on extra points in his career, including a perfect 80-80 in his first two years as the starter for the Gamecocks; the streak ended with a record 82 in a row. In the “Black Magic” season of 1984, Hagler had the game-winning field goal over the rival Clemson Tigers, likely a big reason for his status as a fan favorite. He spent a short time in the NFL after graduation.
Mitch Jeter: Mitch Jeter (2020-Present) is still in school and has only been the placekicker for a single season. However, he has been perfect on field goal tries and still has two years of eligibility remaining. Jeter was a kickoff specialist for two seasons before taking over the field goal job after Parker White’s graduation. Because of the “Covid redshirt,” Jeter can play two more years and rise pretty high on the field goal leaderboards.
Chris Norman: A full-time punter, Chris Norman (1980-1983) and his wispy mustache were fan favorites. Norman was a good punter who made an All-South Independent team in 1983. Norman averaged over 40 yards a punt for his career and punted the football more than any other Gamecock in South Carolina football history.
Josh Brown: Josh Brown (2001-2005) took over the punting job as a redshirt sophomore after Tyeler Dean left. He filled in decently well but found more success when he took over the kicking job the following season. In his two years as the starting kicker, Brown made 20 of 25 field goals, including his most famous, a 49-yard game-winner to upset the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville in 2005.
South Carolina Football’s No. 10 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
P Tyeler Dean
Tyeler Dean (1998-2002) took over the punting job at the end of the 1999 season as a redshirt freshman and oversaw punting duties during the Gamecocks’ turnaround from 1-21 in ’98 and ’99 to back-to-back Outback Bowl victories over Ohio State in 2000 and ’01. A Barnwell, South Carolina native, Dean has some of the best punting numbers in Gamecock history, averaging almost 43 yards per punt as both a junior and senior. When put in as the kickoff man at times during his Carolina career, he performed well in that role, as well.
South Carolina Football’s No. 9 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
K Mark Fleetwood
Kicking for some bad offenses that struggled to adjust after losing George Rogers to graduation, Mark Fleetwood (1979-1983) had a good career in garnet and black. At times, the offensive deficiencies in Columbia provided more scoring opportunities for Fleetwood as the offense couldn’t quite make it to the end zone and had to resort to kicking field goals. He is 4th in Gamecock history in field goal percentage and 5th all-time in field goal makes, despite only kicking for three seasons.
South Carolina Football’s No. 8 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
P Sean Kelly
Sean Kelly (2015-2016) was very good for two bad South Carolina football squads. He owns the career record for punt average distance, and had he been on campus longer, he certainly would have made this list. Instead, Kelly only got to flip fields for the Gamecocks for two seasons after beginning his career at Tallahassee Community College. At times, Kelly got his coverage team in trouble by not giving his kicks enough hang time to go with his significant distance, but he was a very good punter and even made some nice tackles in his career.
South Carolina Football’s No. 7 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
P Joseph Charlton
Arguably the strongest leg to punt at South Carolina, Joseph Charlton (2015-2019) had the misfortune of punting during the Will Muschamp era in Columbia. Some bad offenses led to lots of work for Charlton, but the Columbia native made the most of his many opportunities by becoming one of the best punters in Gamecock football history. For his college career, Charlton averaged 45 yards per punt and made an All-SEC team in 2018 before having a short career in the National Football League.
South Carolina Football’s No. 6 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
K Collin Mackie
Collin Mackie (1987-1990) was a Columbia native who had an excellent career for his hometown team. Mackie made two All-South Independent teams in 1988 and 1990. Mackie graduated as the all-time leading scorer in Carolina history and is still third on that list today behind Elliott Fry and Parker White. He still owns a share of the career field goals made record as well, having knocked through 72 kicks in his 4-year career, the same total as White.
South Carolina Football’s No. 5 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
P/K Spencer Lanning
Spencer Lanning (2006-2010) came to South Carolina while Ryan Succop was still on campus. In order to reduce some of Succop’s workload, Steve Spurrier had a sophomore Lanning take over the punting duties. Lanning held onto that job and became an excellent punter for South Carolina football. After Succop’s graduation, Lanning became the placekicker as well and became the most accurate field goal kicker to ever wear garnet and black. He missed too many extra points, but his very good production as both a punter and kicker led to a 5-year career in the NFL.
South Carolina Football’s No. 4 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
K Elliott Fry
The skinniest of all the skinny kickers, Elliott Fry (2013-2016) was also one of the most accurate kickers to play for the South Carolina football program. He is most-remembered for his 55-yard game-winning kick against Vanderbilt, but Fry should be celebrated for the relentless work ethic that got him to that point. He did not have a strong enough leg to make that kick when he got to USC, but he gained weight and strength during his career and showed it off with the game-winner.
Fry was the program’s all-time leading scorer before Parker White bested his career numbers. After graduation, he could not find a job kicking but kept working. After a short stint playing again for Steve Spurrier with the Orlando Apollos in the Alliance of American Football, Fry got his NFL shot and has been in the league for six seasons.
South Carolina Football’s No. 3 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
K/P Ryan Succop
Ryan Succop (2005-2008) is easily the most famous kicker to play for the University of South Carolina. With the physique of a linebacker, he did not look like most kickers, but the 6’3″, 225-pound Succop was probably the most well-rounded kicker in Gamecock history as he had a very solid career as a placekicker, kickoff man, and punter. His career numbers rank near the top in all three kicking categories.
Succop made three All-SEC teams during his Carolina tenure, all as a placekicker. He didn’t kick field goals as a freshman (he handled kickoff duties and punting that season), but Succop still ranks inside the top-10 for career points in South Carolina football history. He is also in the top-10 in field goal percentage, extra point percentage, punt yardage average, and tackles by a kicker. He has had a 15-year NFL career, holds the record for the best field goal percentage by an NFL rookie, and won a Super Bowl.
South Carolina Football’s No. 2 Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
K Parker White
The all-time leading scorer in South Carolina football history, Parker White (2017-2021) could have obliterated all the kicking records at Carolina if not for how Will Muschamp and his staff mismanaged the talented kicker. Not even the starter at the beginning of his first year, after winning the job from Alexander Woznik, Muschamp and company started throwing White out there for long kicks that he wasn’t ready for and then would go for it on strange 4th downs when it would have been best for White to kick.
After settling into his role, White had a great Gamecock career, including several game-winners. He utilized his “Covid redshirt” season to come back to school to surpass the all-time scoring mark held by Elliott Fry and match Collin Mackie’s all-time field goals made record. After a year off without football, White was signed by the Green Bay Packers during the 2022-2023 offseason and looks to be the favorite to land their starting kicker job this offseason.
South Carolina Football’s Greatest Kicker/Punter of All-Time:
P Kai Kroeger
Kai Kroeger (2019-2023) is the only challenger to the Ryan Succop “Most Popular Kicker/Punter” throne. Beside being an amazing punter (more on that later), Kroeger became a household name around the country due to being a weapon with his arm. A high school quarterback, Kroeger has been utilized in the fake punt game by special teams coordinator Pete Lembo. For his career, he is 6-6 passing with 3 touchdowns and 3 more first downs.
As a punter, Kroeger is the best to ever do it at Carolina. With still another year of eligibility remaining, Kroeger owns the career mark for most punts downed inside the 20-yard line and has among the best punt yardage numbers for a career, as well. What separates Kroeger from other punters in Gamecock lore is his hang time. Kroeger punts the ball far, but he also punts the ball high, allowing his coverage team to get in position to make tackles or, more often than not, preventing a return altogether. 2023 should be a special final year for #39.